After DEVASTER and HELLWRATH, here is another excellent surprise coming out from Italy. This young act formed in 2004 offers a rather pleasant form of blasphemous Death / Thrash (no trace of Black Metal despite the band's claim), certainly lacking in originality but generous in energy and conviction. Also, the tracks present an old flavour which is certainly a good point. The vocals, courtesy of Orias, emerge as one of the strongest elements on this MCD, expect a raw and raspy performance far away of the usual atonal growls offered by the majority of the brutal vocalists of today. The two guitarists teamed up here (Azmeroth and Midgard) deliver the goods OK, even if some trade-offs need more refinement, they have to gain more confidence in the solo department I suppose. The sound on "First Born Evil" is clean, yet it is too bad the drums come out too dry and trebly for comfort, also the guitars should have been better put higher in the mix, especially considering their very raw sound which add a lot to the savour of the music. This is the composition skills of the APOSTHATE warriors that can be praised the more here: even if this MCD is rather short, one could get the impression to hold a true full length, so much the seven tracks offered on "First Born Evil" (I don't count the intro, sampled from the "Evil Dead" movie I think) are carefully written and thought about. This element alone separates APOSTHATE from the legion of wannabes storming across the Metal world these days, and made "First Born Evil" a record worth checking out. To get some supplementary info, visit the band website at: www.thyanthemfades.com/aposthate. Thumbs up!